Żaneta Krulikowska/ Jurnal Arbitrer - Vol. 7 No. 2 (2020) Online version available in : http://arbitrer.fib.unand.ac.id JURNAL ARBITRER | 2339-1162 (Print) | 2550-1011 (Online) | Article Phonological Sketch of Malay Jambi Language of Sarolangun, Indonesia Żaneta Krulikowska1, Nadra2, Muhammad Yusdi3 1,2,3Lingustics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Andalas University, Padang SUBMISSION TRACK A B S T R A C T Recieved: June 09, 2020 This research is a cross-sectional sample survey with a qualitative Final Revision: September 22, 2020 approach of Malay Jambi’s phonology in Sarolangun Regency. The data Available Online: October 25, 2020 was collected in the field using observation and interview methods. It has KEYWORD a form of notes, interview transcriptions, and audio and video recordings. Malay Jambi, Phoneme, Phonology, Sarolangun The data was analyzed using a phonetic articulator matching method with a diving-key-factors technique as a basis. The results are presented CORRESPONDENCE based on the phonetic symbols of the IPA Chart (revised 2005). As found E-mail: [email protected] in the research, Malay Jambi of Sarolangun has six vowels and twenty consonants, one of which does not occur in native Malay Jambi words. Beyond the phonological system description, this paper discusses various features found in Sarolangun like nasalization and laxing of vowels, consonant and syllable deletion, or glide insertion. I. INTRODUCTION Although there are many Malay dialects in Indonesia, this paper focuses on Malay Jambi Over the centuries, Malay was the most influential [ISO: jax] variety spoken in Sarolangun Regency. language in the Southeast Asian region. Its role was Malay Jambi belongs to Austronesian languages, even compared to Latin in ancient and medieval more precisely Malayic sub-branch of Western Europe (Collins 2005: 32). According to Blust’s Malayo-Polynesian branch (Paauw 2008: 3). (1984 in Adelaar 2004: 4) and later also Adelaar’s The total number of its speakers is estimated at (1985 in Adelaar 2004: 4) theory, Malay language around 1,000,000 (Lewis 2009). Studies of Malay spread beyond its homeland in Southwest Borneo Jambi language among others include Husin et al. around 2000–2500 years ago. Since that time, its (1985), Harahap (2015), Kamarudin and Rustam spread resulted in dozens of variations in countries (2016), and Oktariza and Sufiyandi (2017), but such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, the only one took place in Sarolangun Regency the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Southern Thailand i.e. dialectological research of Malay language in (Adelaar and Himmelmann (eds.) 2005: 202). the Batanghari River valley by Anderbeck (2008). A large number of Malay variations can be found Anderbeck analyzed the Jambi people’s speech in Indonesia, the country known for its multi- in 16 locations, three of which were located in ethnicity. Even though Indonesia has a national Sarolangun Regency, namely Dusun Dalam, Aro language, Indonesian, this country is inhabited by Island, and Lubuk Kepayang. He classified Dusun hundreds of ethnic groups that use their languages. Dalam and Lubuk Kepayang isolect as Jambi Dialects and sub-dialects of Malay language are Ulu dialect of Malay language, while Pulau Aro spoken by approximately 17 million people in isolect, which is closely related to Minangkabau Indonesia from Aceh to Irian Jaya province (Lewis language, was classified as Penghulu dialect of 2009). Malay language (Anderbeck, 2008: 30). However, he only briefly discussed Malay Jambi language’s DOI: https://doi.org/10.25077/ar.7.2.173-181.2020 Under Liscense of Creative Commons Attributioni-NonCommercial 4.0 International. 173 Żaneta Krulikowska/ Jurnal Arbitrer - Vol. 7 No. 2 (2020) phonological aspect relying on other books, such account that Sarolangun District is the economic as Husin et al. (1985 in Anderbeck, 2008: 27) and and cultural center of the entire regency, it can be Gani et al. (2000 in Anderbeck, 2008: 27) without considered as a model of the phonological system any verification. Therefore, none of the studies of of other districts and can be taken as the primary Malay Jambi language described phonology of that location for this research language in Sarolangun Regency. The data was collected using observation and Sarolangun Regency itself, with a total area of interview methods from three speakers who were 6,184 km2, is the third biggest regency in Jambi selected based on the requirements taken from Province. The population of Sarolangun reached Nadra and Reniwati (2009: 36–42). It took a form 315,469 people in 2017. The main religion of that of notes, interview transcriptions, and audio and region is Islam, which is the main religion of the video recordings. In a case of any doubts, data was Malay ethnic group (Prayogi, 2016: 14, Sunandar, consulted with an additional speaker and was also 2015: 60-61). The everyday language between the supplemented with daily dialogues of Sarolangun inhabitants is Malay Jambi of Sarolangun which is residents. The author used a vocabulary list by commonly called bahasa Sarolangun (Sarolangun Nadra and Reniwati (2009: 103) which was revised language), meanwhile the official language used and reduced according to the needs of this study i.e. in schools and offices is Indonesian. Bahasa from 864 words and sentences to 550 words. Sarolangun has been influenced by the other languages used in this regency i.e. Minangkabau, Then the data were analyzed using two methods Javanese, Kubu, Batin, and Penghulu (Anderbeck by Sudaryanto (2015: 25–35). The first one is a 2008: 30). One of the characteristics of Malay Jambi phonetic identity method used to identify speech spoken in this region is that originally speakers use sounds in Malay Jambi of Sarolangun and then uvular fricative [ʁ] instead of trill [r] like it happens distinguish phonemes among recognized sounds. in Malay Jambi spoken around Jambi city (Husin Analytical procedures completed this method et al. 1985: 12–13) while trill [r] only appears in by Pike (1966: 57–122). The second one is a loan vocabulary. These differences indicate that distributional method that was used to analyze the bahasa Sarolangun is a recognizable mark of its syllables of the researched language. community that appears in the local language. III. RESULT This paper provides a synchronic description This section describes phonemes found in Malay of the phonological system of the Malay Jambi Jambi in Sarolangun Regency and their distribution variety spoken in Sarolangun Regency. Due to in words and syllables. It also includes discussion the fact that Malayic languages do not distinguish about patterns of syllables, clusters and diphthongs, phonemic suprasegmental segments (Adelaar and free variations. and Himmelmann (eds.) 2005: 202), the research is limited to the description of segmental sounds 3.1 Description and Distribution of Consonants only analyzed phonetically, more precisely using and Vowels articulatory phonetics and phonemics. The description of phonemes in Malay Jambi in The purpose of this paper is 1) description and Sarolangun Regency divides phonemes into two classification of phonemes contained in Malay types, namely consonants and vowels. It explains Jambi of Sarolangun, 2) description of the a manner of articulation, the airstream mechanism, distribution of these phonemes, and 3) description and state of the glottis of found consonants as of Malay Jambi syllable pattern in Sarolangun. well as the size and shape of the space within the mouth while producing each vowel – the shape and II. METHODS position of tongue and jaw and the shape of lips. This research is a cross-sectional sample survey It also describes the loan consonant /r/ which was with a qualitative approach. The research covers found in the research. The results are summarized the whole area of Sarolangun Regency located in in tables. the western region of Jambi Province. Taking into 174 Żaneta Krulikowska/ Jurnal Arbitrer - Vol. 7 No. 2 (2020) Table 1. Consonant Chart of Malay Jambi of Sarolangun The distribution shows the position of a word and become [p̚ ], [t̚], [h̚ ] in syllable-final position, while a syllable each consonant and vowel can occur. phoneme /k/ becomes plosive glottal [Ɂ] in that Positions of the word were divided into three position, examples are /a.sap/ [a.sap̚ ] ‘smoke’, groups, i.e. initial, middle, and final position, while /ə.pat/ [ə.pat̚] ‘four’, /i.luk/ [i.lʊɁ] ‘beautiful’, and / positions of the syllable consist of onset, syllabic su.buh/ [su.bʊh̚ ] ‘dawn’. nucleus, and coda. The phoneme /k/ and /ɡ/ are released as palatal [c] 3.1.1 Description and Distribution of Consonants and [ɟ] and phoneme /h/ as velar [x] if they occur before phoneme /i/, e.g. /bu.kit/ [bu.cɪt̚] ‘hill’, / As found in the research, there are 25 native pa.gi/ [pa.ɟi] ‘morning’, and /li.hi.ja/ [li.xi.ɪ̯ a] phonemes in Sarolangun, nineteen of which are ‘neck’. consonants, and six are vowels. In addition to the native consonants, one loan consonant was found Finally, the sibilant fricative uvular /ʁ/ occurs as in studies. a trill [r] at a final position of a word, as in /i.paʁ/ [i.par] ‘sister/brother-in-law’. Based on the analysis that has been done, it can be concluded that Malay Jambi of Sarolangun consists All consonant phonemes can be in the initial and of four nasals, seven plosives, two sibilant affricates, middle position of a word, except /Ɂ/ which does three sibilant fricatives, two approximants, one not occur in the initial position of a word. However, lateral approximant, and one trill which is the loan among discovered phonemes, few of them do not consonant. The consonants can be also divided into occur in the final position of the word, namely thirteen voiced consonants and seven voiceless phonemes /ɲ/, /b/, /d/, /ɡ/, /Ɂ/, /ʨ/, and /ʥ/. What consonants. Table 1. is a consonant chart based on is more, there are no consonants in Sarolangun that the classification of Handbook of the International can play a role of syllabic nucleus.